BOSTON BAKED BEANS

I love this dish and have prepared it in 'COUNTRY ' cooking classes to the delight of the participants, over the years. The ingerdients you need, 350gm of dried cannellini beans, 1 whole ham hock, 2 onions peeled and chopped, 2 tbs of tomato paste, 2 tbs of Worcestershire sauce, 2 tbs of molassses, 1 dsp of wholegrain mustard, 45gm of soft brown sugar and 125ml of tomato juice. So let's get started, cover 350gm of dried cannellini beans with cold water in a bowl and and soak for 8 hours or overnight. Next day .... drain the beans , rinse them well and place in a large pot along with the ham hock, cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes or until the beans are tender. Preheat your oven to 160 deg C. When the beans are tender, remove the ham hock from the pot and set aside to cool. Drain the beans, reserving 250 ml of the cooking liquid. Trim the ham of the skin, fat and then roughly chop the meat and discard the bone. Transfer the meat and beans to a 2 litre ovenproof / casserole dish. Now add to the reserved liquid with 2 tbs of tomato paste, 2 tbs of worcestershire sauce, 2 tbs of molasses, 1 dsp of wholegrain mustard, 1 dsp of sweet paprika, 45 gm of soft brown sugar and finally 125 ml of tomato juice. Mix the liquid gently to incorporate all the ingredients. Finally pour the reserved liquid over the meat and beans in the the ovenproof / casserole dish , cover with foil / lid. Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes. Serve with thick toasted bread ...